Der Steinkohlenbergbau in der Aachener Region, 1780-1860

In the early 19th century coal mining in the region of Aachen (Prussian Rhine Province) developed to an industrial scale within few decades production was mechanised and new types of industrial organization emerged that allowed for concentration on production and economies of scale. The region hosted two mining areas (the Wurm area and the Inde area) showing rather different patterns of development; while the industry on the Inde was al-ready concentrated at the turn of the century, and industrial modes of production emerged earlier, the industry on the Wurm developed slowly more slowly. Decentralized ownership prohibited scale economics before the mid-1830s. Then, new joint stock companies allowed for concentration of ownership, rationalisation of production and efficient governance. The analysis shows that these different patterns result from different pre-industrial institutional arrangements that were only harmonized during the French occupation of the Rhineland.